Research from these high-quality programs shows positive results. Home visiting offered through the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) program, which operates in New Mexico and in communities across the nation, has been shown in some studies to cut child abuse in half. A different trial found that children who participated in Parents as Teachers, another home visiting program available in New Mexico and other states, were healthier and better prepared for school than children who did not participate.
Positive results for both mothers and their children can last for years. A long-term study of the NFP program found that mothers who did not receive home visits had more than three times as many convictions as mothers who did participate. Similarly, by the time their daughters were 19, those who did not receive NFP home visits were nine times more likely to have been convicted than those who had received them as babies and toddlers.